The year 2005 in Poland was special because of the number of anniversaries, all having their origin in the country’s recent history. Preeminent among these was the 25th anniversary of the trade union Solidarity, which triggered the transformation not only of communist Poland but the whole of the former Eastern bloc. The celebrations in Gdansk in September gathered many top European politicians, including the president of the European Commission, José Barroso, and the heads of most of the European states that owed the end of communism to the Polish unionists. The events of 1980, in the words of German Pres. Horst Köhler, “helped to overcome the division of Europe, and, consequently, Germany.”

Another momentous event for Poland—this one sad and almost overshadowing the Solidarity celebrations—was the death earlier in the year of Pope John Paul II. It was the Polish-born pontiff’s messages of encouragement that had had Poles chanting the slogan “There’s no liberty without solidarity,” which ultimately led to the decentralization of the political system and democratic elections. The 15th anniversary of these elections was yet another date to be remembered in 2005. August turned out to be a month not only for celebration but also for reflection and some soul-searching over some disappointments and a growing decline in public confidence in the country’s political leaders.

Despite promises for the early dissolution of the government, the politicians of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance continued to cling to power, although its public support dropped to 11% and party membership fell drastically. The two centre-right opposition parties, Civic Platform (PO) and Law and Justice (PiS)—both with a Solidarity pedigree—were not idle and used this time to prepare for the parliamentary elections on September 25. Both parties were conservative, and they basically agreed on moral and historical issues, but they had little in common when it came to economic matters. The PO had a free-market stance, while the PiS was more populist and nationalist, promising social protection, a safeguarding of Christian values, and restoration of the integrity of the state. PiS won by a margin of a mere 4% of the vote but thereby secured the right to appoint the prime minister in the expected PiS-PO coalition government, although such a coalition was never actually formed.

In the second round of voting in the presidential elections four weeks later, however, Lech Kaczynski, the twin brother of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, defeated PO leader Donald Tusk. That victory, thanks in part to the support PiS received from two parties whose candidates lost in the first round, the populist party Samoobrona and the Catholic nationalistic League of Polish Families, made a PiS and PO coalition impossible. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was appointed to the post of prime minister and took office on October 31.

In 2005 Poland also celebrated the first anniversary of its joining the European Union, which provided an occasion to count some of the gains of EU membership, mainly in the agricultural sector (structural funds and subsidies), the opening of markets, and expanded opportunities for travel, jobs, and education.

Poland’s GDP, expected to end the year at 3.5%, was still acceptable by EU standards, but the country’s economy had slowed down considerably in comparison with most of the other former communist states that had joined the EU in 2004. An unemployment rate of 17.6% (the highest in the EU), a budget deficit of 6.8% of GDP, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 53% (the constitutional limit was 55%) in October posed a real challenge for the new government, which started off its term with generous social benefits promises.

Internationally Poland began to engage more in affairs of significance, both religious and political. “The Europe of Dialogue,” the sixth Gniezno Congress held in Poland’s historic first capital in September, attracted some 800 representatives of different religions, including for the first time members of the Jewish and Islamic faiths. One activity that could have far-reaching consequences was Poland’s overt involvement in Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution.” Also, Poland was demonstrating increased self-confidence and influence in Brussels and in EU affairs generally.

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